


Better Left Unsaid

by MariaMediaOverThere



Series: Seungchuchu, as told by nosy college students [4]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 18:32:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10519428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaMediaOverThere/pseuds/MariaMediaOverThere
Summary: "Phichit. Guang-Hong."The two both jumped at the mention of their names, eyes wide. For some reason, they seemed incredibly awkward all of a sudden.Had he interrupted something important?A single rose in an elegant vase was situated between them. Otabek may not be well-versed in that sort of past time, but he's aware he may just have disrupted a romantic date.Still, he continued, "Is it alright if Yura sits here?"The teenager whose arm is slung over his shoulder whines at that."He crashed into a pizza delivery man while trying to perform an ollie on a skateboard.





	

"Phichit. Guang-Hong."

The two both jumped at the mention of their names, eyes wide. For some reason, they seemed incredibly awkward all of a sudden.  
Had he interrupted something important?

A single rose in an elegant vase was situated between them. Otabek may not be well-versed in that sort of past time, but he's aware he may just have disrupted a romantic date.

Still, he continued, "Is it alright if Yura sits here?"  
The teenager whose arm is slung over his shoulder whines at that.  
"He crashed into a pizza delivery man while trying to perform an ollie on a skateboard.

 

Yurio hisses his name- embarrassment coloring him red. He continued to swear, but Otabek paid him no mind. He tended to get obscene when he was putting up a front.

But the tiny Russian couldn't fool Otabek; he saw the way his foot twisted when he hit the ground- and that's not the way a foot should twist at all.

To his relief, the pair didn't seem to mind.  
If anything, they seemed grateful.  
The smaller of the two got up and ushered Yurio to sit- an invitation that the teenager did not take kindly.

"I'm fine!" He exclaimed in that thick accent of his, but he let himself be sat down nonetheless.  
Otabek leaves his hands on his friend's shoulders. They're svelte, delicate shoulders, but he's aware of the muscle beneath them.

It was hard to understand that this boy was so young for his achievement.  
Especially considering how much more mature he looks next to the Advertising major- who is surprisingly a year or so older than he.

"Thank you, Guang-Hong." The boy nods in acknowledgement. 

"A pizza man, you say?"

"Shut up, Thailand!" Yura barked.

The skin around cool gray eyes wrinkled. Phichit Chulanont was a good smiler, Otabek always knew.  
He had gladly helped direct the Kazakh student the venue of the basketball tryouts in their first meeting. Never had he met a person so accommodating.  
A twinge of guilt store in his chest,

 

"I'm sorry I disturbed your," He casts his eyes downward- just to make sure he hadn't hallucinated the flower there. "Date?"

 

Perhaps he did misread the situation; the two both had this look- discomfort and panic. "No no, I mean- yes? Um, well we..." The Thai seemed to give up on his train of thought and looked to Guang-Hong for help.  
Unfortunately, that boy looked just as distressed. His eyes were fixated on his feet- his own pink converse becoming interesting to him all of a sudden.

 

It seemed Yurio had only noticed the situation now. He quieted a bit when his green eyes landed on the offending object of romance. At least he looked a little sorry.

Baby steps.

"Oi, you could have just told us to fuck off if we interrupted you." The blonde chastised as he poked at his possibly-sprained ankle.

 

Guang-Hong smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. This was a little worrisome, since as far as Otabek knew his chemistry lab partner, the boy was as pure as they come.  
"No it's okay, I was..." A beat. "I was going to leave anyways."

Phichit's face fell.  
"Guang..."

The brunette lurched forward to embrace the Thai. "It's okay! Thank you! I'm..." He retracted his arms. "You gave me a lot to think about."

This time around, his smile did in fact reach his eyes.  
He bowed a little bit and quickly skittered off into the distance.

 

The ensuing silence was a little too tense for Otabek's comfort.

Obviously, whatever was happening before he arrived was a sensitive subject matter.

He thinks maybe he should have just tried harder to get Yurio to let him carry him back to his dorm- but he would not sway.  
Hence, he came upon the nearest available place to rest. There were a string of eateries around the university, thankfully near the place the accident occurred, and this Persian restaurant was what his eyes landed on first.  
There were no tables left, however. Yet Otabek's eyes landed on the two people he recognized in that crowd.

What a sour coincidence that he had been roped into this weird situation.

 

Before Otabek could refresh his memory on proper social cues, Yurio had sneered, "So what the fuck happened to you two? Did you guys break up or something?"

 

Otabek sighed exasperatedly.

For sure, he adores this young college student- he always has ever since he watched the male cheerleader successfully execute an amazing backflip combination during the halftime of one of last sem's basketball games.  
Still, he tended to be rude and brash.

 

Phichit didn't seem phases, though. "No. I sort of- well, actually, yes but-"

"Which one is it?!" Yurio snapped, clearly irritated but also curious. "Give me something to distract myself from this fucking disaster." He pointed to the redness blooming on the side of his foot.

Phichit snickered at that.  
He's already used to the freshman's attitude since his best friend is dating one of the only people Yuri Plisetsky tolerates to be around with.

Or maybe he's just a patient person by nature- Otabek wouldn't know.  
The young Instagram star is an amalgamation of curiosities.

 

"Guang-Hong asked me out yesterday- it was super surprising because I had no idea he was even interested in dating, much less dating me." The tan student brushed his fringe to the side.  
The plate in front of him had half a lamb kebab and it seemed the Thai was considering finishing it or not.  
"But I decided to try because... Why not, right? I'll try everything at least once."

Phichit's Instagram roll confirms this. Otabek is admittedly a grandpa of modern technology, but he knows how to move his digit across a glass screen, at the very least.  
Everything from bungee-jumping to skydiving to deep sea diving to religious seminars to coast clean-up was checked off his bucket list.  
All of the extreme sports-related ones usually featured this individual with dirty blond hair and a plucky beard; Otabek vaguely recognizes that man as Emil.

Phichit had explained once that Emil is a friend from theatre who is a licensed professional in most dangerous recreational activities. 

 

When Yurio had accepted his friendship 2 weeks prior, he was thinking maybe he'd be open to these activities as well.  
The cheerleader was so keen to preform dangerous skateboard stunts in his off-time, mostly with Georgi- another Russian he tolerates. Now, he performs equally dangerous stunts with Georgi and Otabek himself.

 

It's certainly an upgrade from creepily watching him from the other side of the parking lot.  
He would pretend he'd be working on his motorbike just to catch a glimpse of the freshman doing something cool and then jumping up and down with exaltation. Otabek caught himself often dreaming about getting close and personal with that stranger.

 

Well, not as close and personal as the delivery man he had all but crashed into.

 

Bless his heart. At least Georgi had been willing to escort the clocked-out person to the nearest emergency room.

 

"So we tried, but I had a feeling I wasn't really the one he wanted to date."

Ah, right, Phichit was talking. Otabek scolded himself for being unbecoming just then. It was a good thing Yurio had the handle right now- he spends more time with Phichit anyways.

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean? How would you know that?" Gingerly, the blond set his foot down.  
Otabek realizes his hands are still on the Russian's shoulders, and promptly moved his arms to his side in haste. He's surprised Yurio didn't notice and berate him for the unnecessary contact.

 

The Thai shrugged, "Well, I asked him why he asked me in the first place. I was dying to know what was going on in his mind."

He pushed the plate in front of him away, clearly, his appetite had left.

"Guang-Hong said he admires me- for knowing how to do a lot of things and being in a lot of orgs. It was flattering! I was blushing so hard, but..."

 

Phichit's eyes seemed to glaze over- turning darker for just a small fleeting stretch of time.

 

"The way he said it. It didn't sound like he was confessing or anything... It sounded like he was justifying asking me out. Does that make sense?"

"Not really." Yurio said bluntly.

"Yura..." Otabek said softly. But it fruitless- at least Phichit was still accommodating as ever and didn't mind the less-than-ideal audience.

 

"Hm." Mascara-laden eyes fluttered. "It's like- you think you love someone- romantically, I mean... But really, you just admire them. I think that's what Guang-Hong felt about me."

He seems to think over the next few words, as if internally debating whether or not to say the next sentiment.

"Plus, between you guys and I, I know he has the biggest crush on Leo de la Iglesias."

 

Yurio made this face- promoting Phichit to elaborate.

"He's Emil- you know Emil, right? The guy I do extreme sports with? Yeah, Leo is his roommate. I introduced them at the part from last month and they hit off really well. I was 200% sure they were smitten with each other; so I was super shocked why Guang-Hong showed interest in me."

 

Otabek nodded once, firm.  
"So you turned him down?"

At this, Phichit seemed to turn sheepish. "...I told him the truth: I don't feel romantically attracted to him."

"Savage." Yurio huffed, a little impressed about how straight-forward the Thai had been. The Russian has always been turned off by people who sugar-coated.

 

The man in front of the two took the sort-of-compliment in stride with a dazzling beam. "He was disappointed, sure... but also a little relieved? I totally bet he got all confused by his feelings for Leo."

 

At this, the Kazakh cocked a brow.

 

"Ah, so he was trying to get his feelings for this Leo-person in order by comparing and contrasting them with his feelings for other potential partners."  
Otabek was impressed- he had no idea the scientific method could apply so neatly to romance.

 

Strangely, Phichit at first was in a trance- like Otabek's conclusion had affected him in a great way and he had a eureka moment.

His eyes glistened with new fervor and his cheeks seemed to turn pink.

 

Shortly, he laughed, "I guess you could think of it like that."

"Don't be such a nerd, Beka!"

 

Oh. That's new. He had never heard Yurio call him that before. He looked down, but the blond was still facing Phichit.

The Thai looked enthralled, however.  
His dark eyes kept darting between the two of them with this strange grin. The look disappeared as quick as it appeared, though.

Before Otabek could question him of it, he continued,

"So yeah. Like I said, people can get romantic attraction confused with admiration. I'm sure it happens to a everybody at some point. Or..." That look returned again. "The opposite? You think you admire someone, but you're actually totally in love with them. That's what happened to Yuuri and Viktor!"

 

Otabek's gut lurched at that.  
The insinuation was as clear as day.

Oh.

 

Perhaps he now understands why Phichit's strange look was for.

He had been quick to notice that Otabek gave his undivided attention whenever the university cheer dancing squad has a sequence then. The Kazakh wouldn't be surprised if the Instagram star had caught on to another aspect of his life as well.

 

Yurio, on the other hand, only rolled his eyes at the mention of Yuuri and Viktor. "They're so disgusting," he said under his breath. "But at least Viktor isn't pathetically pining after the piggy."

 

Beka feels himself smile a little at that. He knows that Yurio is secretly very protective over that couple- ready to floor anyone who says anything distasteful about their relationship.

 

Distantly, Otabek hears giggling and finds Mila and another woman coming out of a coffee shop to his left.  
They didn't seem to notice them, though.

Mila was the fourth member of the Russians That Yuri Tolerated (TM).  
She had shown fancy to him earlier that year, but he felt he didn't really have it in him to pursue a relationship despite how admittedly beautiful she was.

But by the way she was aggressively holding hands with this lady with long black hair, Mila never took it to heart.

 

Phichit cleared his throat, inciting both Otabek and Yurio to notice him. "Well," he clasped his hands. "It's late and my date left me."  
He laughed, but it was real and not at all bitter like his words may seem.

The Thai rose from his seat and retrieved a very tasteful dark red cardigan with gold trim from the back of his chair.  
"Otabek?" He gestured to his seat.

 

Now that he mentions it, the junior had truly been just awkwardly standing next to Yurio this entire time.  
He quickly took a seat with a curt thanks.

Phichit then reached into his pocket and left a few bills on the table. "This for Guang and I's meal, but there's a little more for some dessert if you two want some."

Before Otabek could protest, he added, "Thanks for giving me a listen, I..." He smoothed out his cardigan. "I have someone I need to look for tonight."

 

With that, he disappeared into the night.

 

After that strange incident, Otabek turned to Yurio. The freshie had his hurt leg propped up and he was slouching. You would be so unaware of how elegant and graceful he could be when you see him so crudely sitting like this.

Otabek thinks that's part of his appeal.

"Oi. What's with that look?"

"Nothing." He should remember to tell Phichit not to tell people what he knows. "Dessert?"

 

Yurio beamed and motion the waiter for a menu.

 

And if Otabek noticed that Yurio did not mention the single rose in the vase that was still placed between them, he said nothing.


End file.
